Examining ‘Group Stink’

Avatar photo Doug Kass on July 8, 2026

* And fading it…

I don’t own and am currently short (and have been recently short C, JPM, GS, MS, UBER, NFLX, homebuilders, etc.) some of the most consensus sectors.

I am long some of the most non-consensus sectors.

Consensus Longs:

* Memory: SanDisk ($SNDK), Micron ($MU), Intel ($INTC), AMD ($AMD), Applied Materials ($AMAT) (“it’s different this time”)

* Value Tech: Adobe ($ADBE), Oracle ($ORCL), ServiceNow ($NOW) and Nvidia ($NVDA)

* Tech With Biggest Moat: Apple ($AAPL)

* Value Industrial: Caterpillar ($CAT)

* Best Overall Value: Homebuilders

* Streaming: Netflix ($NFLX)

* Autonomous: Uber ($UBER)

* Entertainment: Disney ($DIS)

* Financials: JPMorgan ($JPM), Citigroup ($C), Goldman Sachs ($GS), Morgan Stanley ($MS) 

* Frontier Exposure “For The Long Haul”: SpaceX ($SPCX)

Non-Consensus Longs:

* Cannabis: $MSOS, $VRNOD, $TRLV, $GTBIF, $GLAS

* Private Equity: Apollo ($APO), Blackstone ($BX), KKR ($KKR)

* Consumer Staples: Kimberly-Clark ($KMB), PepsiCo ($PEP), Procter & Gamble ($PG)

Positions:

Long MSOS (L), VRNOD (S), TRLV (S), GTIBF (S), GLAS (S), APO (S), BX (S), KKR (S), KMB (S), PEP (S), PG (S)

Short SPCX (VS), SNDK (VS), MU (VS), INTC (VS), AMAT (VS), AMD (VS), CAT (VS)

 

As Seen On ‘Halftime’

Avatar photo Doug Kass on July 8, 2026

* On Apple’s margins and Micron’s average price realizations… you can’t have it both ways!

Wait, the same panelists who own Micron ($MU) because “it’s different this time” are now arguing that the pressure from Micron’s high memory prices will be fleeting (so Apple’s ($AAPL) margins will mean revert higher as memory prices “normalize”)?

That doesn’t compute and the arguments are not consistent.

Position: Short MU (VS)

Apple… Sis Boom Huh?

Avatar photo Doug Kass on July 8, 2026

Yesterday CNBC’s Halftime show universally applauded Apple ($AAPL). The cheerleaders were led by an uber confident (oops, another poor-performing investment recommendation ($UBER)!) and assertive (and even sometimes yelling) panelist (Josh Brown), signaling that Apple’s shares are the premier investment in the Mag 7:

Josh Brown likes this ‘sleeping giant’ AI play and Magnificent 7 member

Here is a contrary view (something that is rarely considered in the business media that worships at the altar of price) — focused on the company’s valuation at 10.4x sales (the highest in history) and that, fundamentally, Apple’s sales have been roughly flat for five year:

Caveat emptor.

Position: None